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IN THE WORKS...

Ricky is currently writing (and occasionally trialling) material for his new stand-up show Humanity which he'll be touring in 2017.

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BLOG - 12 AUGUST 2017

I took the Proust questionnaire for Vanity Fair.
Another thing ticked on my bucket list.

What is your idea of perfect happiness? Playing with a dog. And we're both drunk.M

What is your favorite journey? I like flying to New York from London. It's like a day off for me. No phone or e-mails. Food, wine, iPod, movies, snoozing. And then New York!

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Patience.

On what occasion do you lie? On many. Always to do with why I can't make a social function. To tell the truth in such situations would be devastating and pointless. Can you imagine? "No, I can't come to your party, because you live too far away and most of your friends are morons."

What do you dislike most about your appearance? I guess, overall, I wish everything didn't sag so much these days.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? "Sorry. I thought babies could swim."

What do you consider your greatest achievement? Working my way up from nothing without punching anyone in the face.

What is your greatest regret? That I didn't punch more people in the face.

What is your current state of mind? I'm stressed about whether my answers to these questions are honest, interesting, or funny.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Wings would be useful.

Where would you like to live? I've been lucky enough to be able to choose exactly where I want to live. I live in Hampstead, in London, and have a little country retreat on the river in Buckinghamshire. I live on the Upper East Side near Central Park when I'm in New York. If I couldn't live in any of those places, Bath springs to mind.

What is your most marked characteristic? I'd like to say it's my intelligence, wit, integrity, and charm. But it's probably for others to decide. They'd say cocky, outspoken, troublemaker.

What do you most value in your friends? It’s hard to narrow it down, because I want them to have a bit of everything - humor, kindness, integrity, intelligence, tolerance (they need lots of that). But if I had to choose just one it would probably be loyalty.

BLOG - 21 MARCH 2017

I am on tour.

It's going very well indeed. Thanks for asking.

BLOG - 23 DECEMBER 2016

What a fucking year.

It started really well. I insulted loads of snowflakes at the Golden Globes. The same night, as I gleefully read the love and outrage on Twitter, I found out that my musical hero and friend, David Bowie, had passed away. There's nothing I can say to add to the man's legacy and iconic status as an artist and human being but he died as he lived; privately and with unbelievable grace and dignity. Oh, and he still had time to churn out one of the best and most innovative albums of the year. Fuck January.

Let's not even talk about Trump and Brexit. Damn. I just did.
I chose the best and worst year to return to stand up. It's great in the sense that there's lots of shit for me to rant about, but it's bad in the sense that my "schtick" has always been playing the arrogant, misinformed know-it -all, who says the wrong thing. It's worked well for me. But now I worry half the room agrees with those things without seeing the irony. It's a tricky one. Still. Fuck it. Humanity is turning out to be my best stand up yet. I think it's because truth is so important now. Anyway, I'll be touring the show in various cities around the world that have 5-star hotels near to large venues.

It was also the year that David Brent returned. Well, in the UK and Australia. The rest of the world gets it in February on Netflix.

That's all I can remember about 2016 as I was drunk.

BLOG - 5 SEPTEMBER 2016

So as the promo for Life On The Road dies down I start working on my next stand-up tour.

It's called Humanity and the general theme seems to be me moaning about everything in the world from the most privileged position imaginable.

I've done a few warm-ups and it's definitely in the best shape of any of my shows at this stage at least.
I also plan to do more warm-ups than usual as I want this to be my best show ever and possibly my last.
Never say never, but with that attitude it will make me put every ounce of my soul into it.

It'll probably take over a year to play everywhere in the world I want to play though.
I'm also thinking of not being so eager to commit the show to DVD or TV Special, so that I can tour it for longer.

I'll also be promoting Life On The Road as it comes out on Netflix and DVD around the globe and of course I'm hoping that the album is the gift that keeps on giving.

I'll also do the odd live concert when my hairy band are available. The 7000 tickets for the two gigs at Hammersmith sold out in 12 minutes, so I guess I should do a few more soon.

Stay tuned.

BLOG - 22 JULY 2016

So, what's happening in this crazy business we call show?

Well, I got nominated for my 23rd EMMY® this week. That's a record for a British comedian. I should be very proud. But what this actually means is, (after 2 wins), I'm probably about to lose for the 21st time. Still, mustn't grumble.

Did some more new material nights for my next stand-up tour, Humanity, and they were the best yet. They were at the Leicester Sq theatre which is my new favourite small venue. The general theme of the show seems to be me complaining about people complaining all the time. I'm doing some more next month, so I'll keep you posted.

The two David Brent gigs at the Hammersmith Apollo sold out in 12 minutes, and there were over 100,000 more requests for tickets. Mental.

BLOG - 7 JULY 2016

You can also order the album, which is released the same day as the movie on August 19.

If you pre-order the album on download at iTunes, you instantly get Lady Gypsy and Life On The Road.

You can of course buy any track individually without buying the whole album, but that would be madness. Here's the video for Lady Gypsy...

Oh, and let's not forget the David Brent Songbook - it comes out a week before the movie and the album and you can pre-order it now on Amazon.

BLOG - 21 JUNE 2016

So the full Life On The Road trailer has been released and it's gone down a storm.

Hope everyone likes the actual movie as much. It has a slightly different feel to The Office in as much as documentary making has changed.

The goings on at Wernham Hogg were based on those quaint doc soaps of the 90s, where ordinary people got their 15 minutes of fame then got back to normal life. Now, reality shows reflect a new ruthlessness towards being famous, where people are willing to live their life like an open wound to stay in the limelight.

Brent is pretty much the same but the world has changed around him. I think people will feel a bit more empathy towards him now he's older, more tragic and nicer than today's average rep in this new dog-eat-dog environment. He's still an embarrassing prat but deep down he's ok.

On July 1st you'll be able to pre-order tickets for the movie in UK cinemas and also pre-order the double album.

BLOG - 18 MAY 2016

So, I completed work on Life On The Road and I'm about to complete the double album too. I have never been more exited about a project or more impatient to release it to the public.

We're releasing the first single in July and you'll be able to pre-order the album and buy tickets to UK cinemas on the same day.

The movie and the album come out on August 19th.

I've also done a couple of new material nights recently, in preparation for my first stand-up tour in about six years. It's going great and I've also been reminded of what a privilege it is, not only to be able to say what the fuck you like, but that people are kind enough to pay to come and hear you say it as well.

BLOG - 28 APRIL 2016

So that's the PR tour for Special Correspondents over. Now it's up to you. Watch it on Netflix around the world. Hope you like it. Or not. I've been paid.

Nearly finished Life On The Road. And the album. And the songbook.

We're hoping to do a few songs live at the premiere in August. Come along and wave.

As you may know I'm doing a couple of warm-up gigs in May too. I'm going to really try and not write another series or movie for the next couple of years so I can do a world tour. And when I say world tour, I mean UK and North America. "Places Where Ricky Has A House" Tour.

BLOG - 14 APRIL 2016

The first teaser trailer for Life On The Road went down a storm.

I really can't wait for the movie to be released now.

Before that though, is Special Correspondents on Netflix worldwide at the end of April.

The second trailer for that was released and again the reaction was great.

I'll be popping to New York to promote it soon. The world premiere is part of this year's Tribeca Film Festival which is fucking amazing!

After that I'll fly back to London to finish the David Brent album.

I'll also be doing a couple of secret warn-up gigs for my next stand-up tour. My most offensive yet I imagine. I'll keep you posted.

BLOG - 28 MARCH 2016

The poster and trailer for Special Correspondents landed this week.

Have a look if you haven't seen it already;

In other amazing news, the movie has been accepted into Tribeca. The premiere will be in New York on Friday 22 April and the whole cast will be there.

We won't have to do a lot of press for the movie as Netflix are pretty laid back about the whole affair. They know they have 80 million subscribers and they can tell them about it in an email. I'm pretty laid back too as I've already been paid. But I hope you like it, obviously.

A different kettle of fish altogether is the Brent movie, which is an old-school cinema release. That one I will have to do the usual begging for. Haha. It's great though. I promise. We started mixing the album this week and we have 15 tracks. This means our vinyl edition will be a double album. How cool is that? I'm like Prince. (But slightly taller.)

Finally, I'm going to do some stand-up. The first in about six years if you don't count hosting the Golden Globes.

I've booked a couple of low key warm-ups with the Derek lot to flesh out the bill a bit. The shows will be in London in May, but I'll give you more details nearer the time.

BLOG - 15 MARCH 2016

We've locked picture on Life On The Road. Still weeks of mixing the music and grading, but basically the content is fixed.

We're mixing the soundtrack album this month too. Even though it's by a ludicrous fictional character, the songs are insanely catchy. You'll all be singing along to Native American and Lady Gypsy before you know it.

There'll also be a songbook to help you play the tunes yourself. It's a dream come true for Brent as he gets to pontificate about his writing techniques and philosophies.

BLOG - 4 MARCH 2016

And the results are in!

As you know, we did a test screening of Life On The Road for 250 people.

The invited audience was purposely made up of 50% fans and 50% non-fans to get a brutally honest representation. After the movie, they were grilled to find out everything they liked, disliked, didn't get, were bored by etc.

They loved it! Most, either found it 'Excellent' or 'Very Good' and the love amongst fans of The Office was off the charts. They liked the comedy, the characters, the emotion, and they also loved the songs and said they would buy the album and buy a ticket to see a live show. This is exciting news. Let's hope this is reflected by the rest of the population.

Brent’s Back.

BLOG - 23 FEBRUARY 2016

Eight weeks editing Life On The Road and I'm pretty much happy with the content. Next is a temporary grade and dub to show the film at a test screening. So, basically, they find a couple of hundred people on the street and invite them to watch the movie. The audience fills out a form and some even stay after to answer more in-depth questions. Stuff like "How would you rank the film: Excellent, good, fair poor?" & "What did you like/hate?" etc. They take the details of the demographic of the sample and draw conclusions from the data.

Some films score great and everyone gets exited, and some score badly and everyone panics and sometimes even do reshoots; or they can dump it all together. I don't HAVE to change anything but they're a great thing to do to assess the timing and pacing of the jokes and songs. i.e do they laugh at one joke and miss the next joke? Also it might tell me what clips to use in trailers.

I'm probably as excited about the soundtrack album as I am about the actual film. The songs have turned out even better than I imagined and really add to the whole myth of David Brent and his band. I also can't wait to do some live dates. The show will be twice as good as it was a few years ago and it was amazing fun then.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted.

BLOG - 12 FEBRUARY 2016

About half way through the edit on Life On The Road and we basically have the movie. Obviously still weeks of fine tuning, grading and the dub, but we have 100 minutes of pure joy. And a bit of cringe. Well, a lot of cringe.

It's been a much easier edit than Special Correspondents in many ways. There were strict, quite complicated plot lines and lots of twists and turns in Special Correspondents, whereas Life On The Road is a fun journey centred around the antics of a bumbling fool. Also, with Life On The Road we've already recorded all the music and I own all the rights, which really makes life very easy.
I'm obviously looking forward to people enjoying Brent's return but I'm most exited about the songs. Even though the songs are not to be taken seriously, they are really fucking catchy. Can't wait to do some live gigs too. So much fun.

Before all that though, Special Correspondents comes out exclusively on Netflix around the world on April 29th.

Hope you like it.

BLOG - 23 JANUARY 2016

With my fourth Golden Globe hosting stint behind me, I was straight back in the edit doing my real job. (I killed, by the way. At the Golden Globes I mean. With Jokes, obviously. Not texting and driving and then getting away with it. Just wanted to be clear.)

I know you should always feel this way, whether it's true or not, but I genuinely think that Life On The Road is my best comedy movie so far. It's not exactly groundbreaking cinema. It has no pretensions or ludicrous ambitions, but the story is a real journey and I think it's funny from beginning to end. Yes, I have just given myself a very good review. I know it doesn’t count, but then again, no review does. It's always one person's opinion. This one just happens to be mine. Sue me.

It's down to 107 minutes and getting slicker by the day. My hope is that it's a really enjoyable 95 minutes in the end with some memorable moments and some even more memorable songs. You'll all be singing Native American, Lady Gypsy and Thank Fuck It's Friday in August. Or demanding your money back. I'm happy with either as there are strictly no refunds.

But before all that my other movie Special Correspondents starts streaming around the world on Netflix from April 29th. This one, although not as obviously laugh-out-loud funny as Life On The Road, does have loftier ambition and is definitely my most accomplished movie as a director. It's a sort of satirical comedy drama with a few serious bits and even some action. It's like Woody Allen meets Die Hard. That's so misleading. Forget I said it. Just watch it. Thanks.

BLOG - 1 JANUARY 2016

2015 was probably the busiest and most gruelling year of my career. It was probably also the most rewarding. It started at the Golden Globes with a nomination for my role as Derek.

After the show I flew to Toronto to pick some of the locations for Special Correspondents. The script was basically finished but I never stopped honing it right up to filming it. Eric Bana was the first actor I cast, closely followed by Kelly McDonald, Kevin Pollak, America Ferrera, Vera Farmiga, Benjamin Bratt, Raul Castillo and a whole host of others.

I was also writing another movie by this time, that documented the continuing saga of David Brent. By the time I started shooting Special Correspondents I had the basic plot and, of course, all the songs for Life On The Road.

I finished filming on Special Correspondents in New York at the beginning of July and flew to London to edit that movie and start pre-production on the Brent one. This was a crazy thing to do. Making a movie is a full-time job. Overlapping two movies is two full-time jobs. Mental. I delivered Special Correspondents on 9 November and started shooting Life On The Road on 16 November. It was around this time that they asked me to host the Golden Globes. I said no but they kept trying to persuade me. I just thought it was a headache I didn't need. They eventually won through attrition, flattery and generosity. Oh, they also said I can say whatever I want again. I'm glad I said yes now and I'm really looking forward to it. I also can't wait for the world to see these two little movies. I'm very proud of both of them and I didn't have a nervous breakdown.

Special Correspondents is exclusive to Netflix around the world in the spring. And Life On The Road will be in cinemas from August in the UK then everywhere else sometime after that. Hope you enjoy one or both of them.

NEWS

Humanity Tour Reviews

"What I've learned"

Genius. Fact.

GQ magazine proclaims Ricky to be 'Genius of the Year' at its annual 'Men of the Year Awards'.
Read more here at GQ.com.

Ricky on retweeting idiots

Fitness website Coach talks to Ricky about his career, the Brent movie and routine mischief on Twitter.
Read here.

Ricky to receive Charlie Chaplin Award

BAFTA Los Angeles will honour Ricky with the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy at its annual celebration in Beverly Hills on October 28.
Read more here.

Ricky on the cover

The Hollywood Reporter puts Ricky front and centre on this week's issue.
Read the interview here.

David Brent: Life On The Road Teaser Trailer Released

Ricky's released a first look at the new Brent movie (in cinemas this August).Check out the trailer on these three sites - along with their insights on this brief glimpse of what's to come.
Watch and read at Shortlist or over at The Guardian, and you can also share your thoughts at Esquire.

Guardian Film Editor on Special Correspondents

The Guardian gives its commentary on the first Special Correspondents trailer. Special Correspondents is exclusive to Netflix from 29 April.
Read and comment here.

Special Correspondents Shortlisted

Shortlist gives a ballsy appraisal of the first trailer for Special Correspondents. Only on Netflix | 29 April.
Read more here.

Trailer Splash: Special Correspondents

IndieWire gives an industry take on the first trailer for Special Correspondents suggesting the movie's potentially a strong awards contender.
Read more here.

Poster Posted: Special Correspondents

Movie resource IMDB has been updated with the poster artwork for Special Correspondents.
Check it out here.

'Special Correspondents' Cast Revealed

Get the low-down on the principal cast for Ricky's new movie along with a group photo for you to match the host of household names and well-known faces.
Read more here.

'Special Correspondents' First Cast Photo

The Wrap has an exclusive look at the cast of Ricky's new movie.
Read more here.